It Starts with a Birthday
by amyyrileyy
Summary: Working title; need suggestions?  JJ and Emily go out to celebrate JJ's birthday. Where does the night lead them?
1. Chapter 1

AN: Okay, so, I'm not entirely sure where this story is going to go, so feel free to throw in some suggestions. I've already written the first couple chapters but I wanted to get some feedback before I post them. Also, I like to think portray Emily and JJ as closer than they are on the show because I feel like, being the only two females in the field, they would have some sort of close bond. I know this chapter is short but it's just an introduction, they'll get longer as more of a plot develops. Oh, and finally, I really need some suggestions for a title, so if you have any, I'd appreciate them! Thanks! Read and review!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Criminal Minds.

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><p>"C'mon, JJ!" Emily called behind her, running towards the bar, attempting to shield herself from the downpour. Pausing at the door, safely under the overhang, she glanced back to watch her blonde best friend climb out of their cab and run towards the building as fast as her red 'fuck-me' stilettos would allow her. <em>"Those are definitely not work heels."<em>

"Why does it always rain when I wear white?" JJ exclaimed as she stopped next to her brunette co-worker, referring to her white off-the-shoulder top.

"JJ... it was raining before you got ready to come out." Emily pointed out.

"Let's not get technical, Em. C'mon, we should get inside before we catch pneumonia."

Emily just shook her head, stifling back a laugh. "I'm so getting you laid tonight."

"What? No, Em, you know how many murders we investigate that stem from one night stands?" She replied seriously.

"JJ, it's your birthday. The last time you had any sort of well, anything, was that one night with Will in Louisiana and that was six months ago."

"What? How -?" JJ's jaw dropped opened.

"Don't worry. No one knows. I just happened to see Will leaving at like four in the morning." Emily shrugged as she tried to reassure her when she realized how upset she was getting.

"I didn't… Can we talk about it later?" JJ frowned, not willing to ruin her birthday with this.

"Of course, sweetie." Emily pulled her friend into a quick hug. "I've got a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream in my freezer with your name on it."

"Thanks, Em." She smiled, already craving her favorite ice cream and a girls' night in.

"Not a problem. Now, c'mon, birthday girl. Just because the official celebration with the team isn't until this weekend doesn't mean you get to skip out on the official day!"

JJ laughed at Emily's logic but allowed her to get dragged into the bar.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Alright, here's chapter two. Sorry it took so long. I wasn't really sure if I was going to actually continue with this or not.

This chapter is a bit longer than the last one and really is just focused on Emily and JJ. The rest of the team will come in later; I actually have a case happening in the chapter I'm working on now.

And again, pleaseee let me know what you think. I don't want to spend time uploading and publishing if no one is interested.

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><p><span>Chapter Two<span>

"Emily!" JJ exclaimed when the brunette returned with their fourth round of beers. She was by no means a lightweight but four beers in 2 ½ hours was pushing it for her; not to mention the two shots of Jaeger that were bought for her by some sketchy-looking guy before Emily had scared him off.

"JJ, calm down. It's only 11:30; you still have two and a half hours to sober up." Emily grinned, handing her a bottle of beer. "Besides, Spence knows we're out here; all I have to do is call him and he'll be here in less than ten minutes. Now look, we're going to dance and there's nothing you can do about it."

Knowing better than to argue with her best friend, JJ climbed to her feet and followed Emily to the dance floor, clinging to her beer bottle as if her life depended on it.

It didn't take long for JJ to realize that she was actually enjoying herself. It wasn't that often that she could go out and let loose. Glancing around, she found Emily laughing at something a young brunette man was whispering in her ear. Oblivious to all the stares she was receiving from the other male occupants in the room, JJ set her empty beer bottle down on a nearby table and continued dancing. Emily was right; it's her birthday and she's going to have a good time.

After dancing to a few more songs, JJ weaved her way back through the crowd to reclaim her seat at their table from earlier. Pulling out her phone, she unlocked the screen to check her messages. So immersed in her emails, she practically jumped when a beer bottle was placed in front of her and Emily rejoined her at the table.

"What'cha doing?" She asked. "You better not be checking into work stuff."

"Nope. Definitely not." JJ grinned and locked her phone. "Where'd your hottie friend go?"

"Oh, he was a dud." She shrugged. "And barely out of college."

JJ nodded and took a sip of her beer. She was starting to feel a little tipsy from the alcohol but decided to ignore it for once. "I meant to tell you, I appreciate you bringing me out tonight. I am having a good time."

"Good!" Emily exclaimed. "How are your feet?"

"My feet?" JJ asked, confused at the random question.

"Yeah, are your 'fuck-me' stilettos killing them yet?"

JJ laughed and shook her head. "No, they're fine. Why?"

"I wanna dance again." Emily smiled and grabbed JJ's hand. "And I want you to join me. We need to find us some real men. Remember? You're getting laid tonight!"

"Emily!" JJ laughed at her exclamation but allowed herself to be pulled out onto the dance floor for the second time that hour.

"Well, look who it is!" Emily exclaimed as she neared the crowd. "You are SO getting laid tonight."

"What?" JJ asked, leaning up to look over her shoulder, and gasped. There, on the middle of the dance floor, surrounded by three women was the one and only Derek Morgan. "No, Em, no."

"Oh yes." Emily grinned wickedly. "It's fate, JJ."

"Emily! Just because I drunkenly admitted my feelings for Derek to you one night does not mean that anything needs to happen!" JJ pulled back on Emily's arm, stopping her from moving towards their co-worker. She inwardly cursed at Emily's ability to get her drunk and spill her secrets.

"JJ. Seriously." Emily looked back at her. "I know you aren't a profiler but anyone, even Reid! Noticed that Derek is totally smitten with you!"

"What? No!" She exclaimed back, shaking her head quickly. "Em, just look at those girls! There's no way Derek Morgan is interested in me."

"Seriously, JJ? Have you looked in a mirror recently? You're hotter than all of those girls. There's no way Derek wouldn't be interested. He just doesn't think you are." Emily argued. "Now, c'mon, let's dance and maybe one of us will get lucky tonight."


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for all the reviews. It makes me feel just a little bit better to know that someone is enjoying this fic. This chapter is pretty short; probably the shortest yet, but it's really just a filler. I'm uploading chapter four in a few minutes, as soon as I read through it once more. It's much much longer, and much more interesting.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!

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><p><span>Chapter Three<span>

Slightly distracted by Derek's presence, JJ found it a little bit harder to let herself really enjoy herself. She knew she was fairly attractive, she'd had guys and sometimes girls telling her that all the time, but she definitely was not on 'Derek Morgan level'. With that thought set in her mind, she felt slightly uncomfortable dancing. It was almost like she was embarrassed at the idea of Derek seeing her and then he'd really know that she wasn't his type. At least if he didn't see her, she could pretend there was a slight chance.

Emily frowned at her friend, completely oblivious to the stares she was receiving from the other male patrons in the bar. So what if Derek was slight preoccupied? They still had at least another hour until last call for her to find someone acceptable for her friend. It's not like Emily was big on the one night stand scene herself but good Lord, it was obvious JJ need some lovin'. Waving her newly manicured hand in front of JJ's face to gain the attention of the blonde, Emily smiled and nodded back over her shoulder. "I'm goin' to get us another round. Don't go anywhere."

JJ shook her head and chewed at her bottom lip, feeling a lot drunker than she had before. "I don't-."

"Nope. Don't go there. We're going to finish the night off drunkenly stumbling into a cab, or Reid's car, and tomorrow after we go to work hungover, we'll have a nice, quiet girl's night to recuperate. Don't argue with me, Jareau." Emily told her, leaving no room for negotiation.

JJ smiled at her friends' determination and nodded. "Okay."

"Well, hey there, birthday girl." A familiar voice came from behind her not even thirty seconds after Emily walked away.

JJ turned around and smiled. "H-hey, Derek!"

"What's good, girl? You out celebrating by yourself?" He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a sort of side hug.

"Uh, no. Em'ly's here. She get, uh, went to get drinks." JJ stumbled over her words, inwardly cursing at the effect the alcohol had had on her already nervous brain.

"Yeah? Em gettin' you hammered for your birthday?" He asked knowingly, smirking at her obvious drunkenness.

"Mhmm." JJ nodded enthusiastically. "Sh-she said I'm gettin' laid tonight!" At that exclamation, her eyes went wide and she slapped a hand over her mouth. _"Damn word vomit! Way to go, JJ, he's never going to let you live that one down!"_

"Oh really?" Derek wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Before JJ could open her mouth again, a perspiring dark bottle was shoved into her hand and an arm was slung around her shoulder, causing her to sway on her heels.

"Morgan!" Emily exclaimed, rejoining her drunken friend.

"Hey, Prentiss. Havin' fun? JJ was just tellin' me how you're gettin' her laid tonight."

Emily smirked, knowing JJ was too far gone to notice her behavior. "Well, I sure am trying to but she's being very stubborn."

"What else is new?" Derek joked.

"Heeey!" JJ exclaimed. "I am s-so not st-stubum!"

"Okay, maybe you're not stubborn but you're definitely drunk. One out of two missions accomplished isn't too bad." Emily shrugged, taking another drink of her beer.


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, here's the chapter you guys may enjoy more than most. It's definitely longer than what I usually write but I wasn't quite able to find a stopping place anywhere else. Also, I know I'm taking some creative liberties with JJ's behavior (and Emily's personal life), but we've never really seen any of them completely smashed.

Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think!

Oh, and I own nothing related to Criminal Minds; just Ben, who I made up in the spur of a moment.

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><p><span>Chapter Four<span>

"C'mon, birthday girl. You only got another half hour and you promised me a dance." Derek grinned as he polished off another beer.

"De'k. M'waaaay too drunky to dance." JJ slurred, giggling for no reason at all.

"Don't worry, girl. I'll hold you up." He remarked, grabbing her hand and pulling her off her barstool. He was definitely a little intoxicated but not drunk. He also knew that JJ was drunk and even though Emily was trying to 'get her laid!' he wasn't the type of man that would take advantage of said drunken state.

"S'okay. Don't dr-drop meee." JJ giggled as her voice squeaked.

The dance floor was still pretty full of college students that were enjoying their Thirsty Thursday so Derek had to weave his way through the crowd, nodding his head in time with the hip-hop music before stopping short and turning to face JJ. "You good?"

"Yup!" She replied enthusiastically as she began swaying back and forth to the music.

Derek just shook his head in amusement and pulled her close as some popular song came, causing the crowd to get even louder.

"Ooh!" JJ squealed. "I love this song!"

Raising an eyebrow as he glanced down at the blonde, he smirked. "Well, let's enjoy it then."

Giggling, JJ spun in a half-circle and pressed herself against Derek. Reaching behind her, she grabbed both of his hands and wrapped them around her waist, leaving their fingers entwined.

Glancing back towards their table where Emily was still sitting, he shrugged his shoulders before smiling and turning his attention back to JJ. Sure, he had asked her to dance but she was clearly taking the lead here. Emily had told him about JJ's drunken confession a couple weeks ago and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't excited about the prospect of her sharing the same feelings he was currently harboring. He also would be lying if he said he wasn't worried that she would feel completely difference once the alcohol wore off.

"You still in there, Der'k?" JJ spun to face her friend and stared up at him, placing her hands on his waist. Her blue eyes were slightly glazed over as a result of the alcohol and the obvious sudden exhaustion.

"Huh?" He glanced down at her. "Yeah, yeah, I'm still here. Sorry, I was… just thinking."

"Well, quit it. We're s'posed to be having fun." She smiled and applied slight pressure to his waist. "You gotta move in order to dance. What were you think'n 'bout?"

Derek shook his head. "I'll tell you later. Let's just dance." He placed both of his hands on her lower back and pulled her closer.

JJ grinned and started moving to the music again, feeling Derek pull her closer the entire time, if that was possible. She glanced over to the table where Emily was sitting, talking to a blonde man, who looked a little bit closer to her age than the last one.

As if on cue, Emily glanced up and met JJ's gaze. Smiling widely, the brunette grabbed the hand of the man and proceeded lead him towards the dance floor.

"Em'ly's coming." JJ told Derek, gesturing over her shoulder. "She seems to be pretty happy we, uh, we're dancing fin'ly. I didn't think she'd stop ment'ning it all night."

"Well, she's very adamant that we are both keeping secrets about our feelings" He replied, thankful that even in his inebriated state, he could form coherent sentences, which was something that JJ was obviously struggling with.

"I'm not ke-keepin' seeecrets!" JJ giggled. "She already knows!"

Derek laughed as JJ spun around. "Secrets from each other, girl. No one can keep secrets from Emily Prentiss."

JJ didn't respond, instead decided to dance a little bit more provocatively, pressing her back up against Derek's chest.

Feeling JJ's change in dancing, Derek faltered for a second before getting back in time with her.

"Can't keep up, Morgan?" JJ asked cheekily over her shoulder.

Raising an eyebrow at the top of her head, Derek leaned close to her ear before whispering suggestively, "I always keep up, Princess. The question is, can you?"

"S'that a challenge?" She smirked, grinding herself against him a little harder.

"Why don't we give Emily a little entertainment?" He suggested, gripping her hips tighter.

"Der'k Morgan!" JJ exclaimed. "You! Want me to, to dance… dirty wif you?"

"I'm just asking to make our friend happy." He shrugged innocently.

"You gotsa buy me 'nother drink first."

"Deal. Don't move. I'll be back."

"Where's Derek going?" Emily asked as she finally reached JJ.

"Drinks." The blonde replied, swaying on her feet.

Emily nodded knowingly. "How's it goin'?"

"Gooood." JJ replied with a smile. "You were riiight."

"When am I not?" She laughed. "Oh, this is Ben. From Violent Crimes."

JJ nodded in acknowledgement and frowned. "My feet hurt."

"'Bout time. I was waiting for that. Wanna leave?"

JJ shook her head. "Nope! Der'k's gettin' drinks."

"Em! Nice of you to join us!" Derek exclaimed, handing JJ a beer and a shot.

"What's that?" She closed one eye and peered into the glass.

"Good stuff." He replied, holding his glass up to hers.

Shrugging, JJ clinked glasses with Derek and downed the show. She handed her empty cup back to him with a grimace. "Ooh… tequila…"

"You said you needed alcohol!" He laughed, dropping the empty cups on the table behind them. "Now, let's dance!" He threw his arm around JJ's waist and pulled her flush against him.

Inwardly squealing in excitement, Emily turned to Ben and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Dance?"

After a few minutes of dancing, Ben leaded down so Emily could hear him. "I thought you said your friends weren't together?"

"They aren't." Emily replied, looking confused at his question.

"Might wanna check them out them." He spun her around, keeping his hands on her waist. "Their dancing is pretty convincing."

Emily gasped at the sight in front of her before spinning back around and burying her face in Ben's chest. "Dancing? That's… not dancing! We're dancing! That's… I don't even know!"

"Is that a bad thing?" Ben asked, so completely confused about everything.

"It's not! It's fantastic!" Emily replied. "But I know Morgan and he's too good of a person to make the move on JJ when she's this drunk. I'm going to have to do this all over again, minus the alcohol! I knew I should have stopped drinking…"


	5. Chapter 5

A: Guys, I'm SOOO sorrythis has taken me so long to upload. There's really no excuse considering it's been written for like a month. I'm trying not to upload too fast so that I can stay a couple chapters ahead but with this being my last semester of undergrad, I'm completely swamped with papers all due within the next two weeks, including an 18pg paper on the Psychology of Sexual Assault Offenders!

However, I've taken a break from all my research and have managed to get back on here. In fact, I'm going to upload the next three chapters as an apology for being a sucky updater.

Thanks for reading! And please don't forget to tell me what you think! I love all types of criticism; it only helps me get better!

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><p><span>Chapter Five<span>

Hours later, JJ woke to a pounding in her head and a very unsettling feeling in her stomach. Opening one eye, she immediately recognized her surroundings as Emily's guest room, which JJ had actually claimed as her own since she's the only one that's ever used it.

As she climbed out of bed, she reached for a sweatshirt that she must have left there during a previous stay and pulling it over her black tank top. Using the walls to steady her, she began her trek to the bathroom. Clad in just the black long-sleeve, off-the-shoulder, midriff-baring sweatshirt and a pair of purple lace boy shorts, she pushed her bed head hair out of her face, thankful that her and Emily had shared enough hotel rooms to be comfortable with each other because there was no way she was bending over to put pants on.

After stopping in the bathroom to wash her face and take some aspirin, she headed towards the kitchen to make some coffee. According to the clock on the microwave, it was only ten past seven, which meant they had two hours until they needed to be at work. Thankfully, Emily had told her to pack her go-bag so she didn't have to go home in the morning. Staring at the full coffee pot, JJ tried to figure out when it had been made because she knew for a fact that she had heard Emily's light snoring coming from her bedroom.

"Rough night, Princess?" A deep voice startled JJ out of her thoughts.

"Derek!" She squealed, causing her head to pound even harder. Tugging at the bottom of her sweatshirt, she tried to cover herself up and jumped behind the breakfast island. "What are you doing here?"

Derek smirked and shook his head. "You really had a good time last night. Do you remember anything?" He approached her slowly, causing her to unconsciously back up, only stopping when she hit the counter.

Shaking her head, JJ frowned. "I remember… dancing. And drinking, a lot of drinking…"

Placing his hands on the counter on each side of her, he looked down into her confused and hungover face. "What else?"

"I don't…" She trailed off as Derek brushed his lips over her bare shoulder. "D-Derek… what…"

"Shh…" He pressed his lips against her bare skin a little bit harder. "It'll come back to you. Just relax."

"I, don't – oh!" She gasped as Derek's lips brushed over her pulse point, causing her eyes to flutter closed. As her eyes closed though, she was immediately brought back to the previous night.

_Flashback_

_ "You should've seen the look on your face, Emily." Derek laughed as they waited on the sidewalk for a cab, the rain had long ago stopped pouring down._

_ "I swear…" She shook her head. "You guys were practically having sex back there!"_

_ JJ was laughing so hard that she was crying, barely unable to come up with a response. "It was all Derek's idea!"_

_ "Yeah, okay, Jayje." Emily opened the door to the yellow cab that had pulled up. "C'mon, why don't we all share a cab?"_

_ "Full house! I win! Sorry, boys!" JJ smirked and showed her cards to the rest of the room._

_ "You cheat." Morgan grumbled as both he and Ben took the shots of tequila and pulled off their t-shirts, leaving them in just their jeans. "I give up. JJ will always kick ass at poker."_

_ "Let's watch a scary movie!" Emily exclaimed, scrambling to her feet. "I have Insidious!"_

_"I'm goin' to move her to bed." Ben gestured to Emily who had long ago fallen asleep, curled up with him in the recliner. "Goodnight, guys."_

_ "Night, man." Derek replied from the floor as JJ waved from her spot on the couch._

_ "I'm so goin' to have nightmares." JJ muttered from where she was practically buried under a blanket._

_ "Ghost story too much for you, Jareau?" Derek smirked and turned to look back at her, leaving them eye level with each other._

_ "Shut up, Morgan." She looked away from the screen, unintentionally meeting his gaze._

_ Eye contact was held for not even ten seconds before Derek leaned forward and captured JJ's lips with his._

_ Surprised, JJ pulled back almost instantly. "Derek! What -."_

_ "Shh…" He shook his head and recaptured her lips with his. Reaching up, he gently tugged on her arm, pulling her down into his lap._

_ Hovering above him, JJ gently settled onto him, straddling his waist. Leaning down, she met him halfway and kissed him deeply._

_End flashback_

"Oh…" JJ's eyes snapped open as she remembered everything. "Derek… we need… to talk." She was finding it increasingly difficult to think straight while he continued his assault on her neck. "Derek…"

"Jayje… stop thinkin' for a few minutes." He whispered as he found _that_ spot right behind her ear, causing JJ's knees to buckle. Without missing a beat, Derek wrapped his left arm around her waist and pulled her toward him. "We'll talk. Don't worry."

Unable to form a coherent thought, JJ just nodded and allowed him to pull her against him as he stepped back to lean against the breakfast island. Her hands gripped his waist gently, trying to keep herself upright while he continued to kiss her neck. JJ knew there were going to be marks; she also knew he was doing it on purpose, but she just couldn't bring herself to care at the moment.

"Jayje, did you make coff- oh my God!" Emily's exhausted voice stopped Derek's actions as he glanced over JJ's head to see their brunette friend standing in the doorway to the kitchen with both hands over her eyes. "I'm sorry! I didn't -." Upon hearing Derek's laugh, she slowly separated her fingers to peek through them at her friends. "I'm sorry."

Chuckling, Derek shook his head and held JJ tightly against him while she buried her face in his chest, obvious embarrassed at the situation. Regardless of the fact that the two girls were best friends and unbelievably close, some situations were just _that_ awkward that neither knew how to respond.

"Em, you can put your hands down." Derek told her, trying to not blatantly laugh at her. "It's fine."

Emily slowly brought her hands down from her face, which was bright red and smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry."

Taking a deep breath, JJ forced herself to turn around to meet Emily's gaze. "No, Em, don't worry about it. It's not your fault. I'm not even sure..." JJ trailed off, unsure of exactly what to say to lessen the awkwardness of the entire situation. "Derek made coffee!"

"Coffee? I could definitely use some of that." Another voice joined the conversation, unaware of what had happened not even thirty seconds earlier. Running a hand through his blonde hair, Ben appeared behind Emily, looking just as tired but not as hung-over.

JJ gestured to the full coffee pot. "Help yourself. I, uh, need to find pants."

"Need help?" Emily and Derek asked in unison as JJ practically tripped over her own feet as she all but ran from the room.

"No! Yes! Shit!" They heard a bang, followed by her cursing from down the hall and tried not to laugh at her. "Emily!"

Shoulders shaking as she tried to keep her laughter quiet, Emily turned and headed down the hall after her blonde friend. "Comin', Jayje!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

When Emily reached the bedroom, she found JJ face down on the bed, arms lying limply by her side. "Jayje?"

"Mmphh!"

"Jay, sweetie. What's goin' on in that head of yours?" The brunette asked quietly as she laid down on the pillow next to JJ. "Talk to me, sweetie. What happened out there?"

Taking a deep breath, JJ removed her face from the pillow and looked over at the brunette. "I don't even know really. I was just staring at the coffee pot when he cornered me and started…" She trailed off, trying to focus through the pain of her hangover. "I thought he was still drunk or something."

"Did you say anything to him last night? About how you feel?"

"After… after you fell asleep, Ben brought you to your room so it was just the two of us left. He kissed me." She explained.

"Like a goodnight peck on the cheek or…?" Emily didn't finish her sentence, waiting for JJ to elaborate instead.

"Like a 'I-have-feelings-for-you-and-I-know-you-feel-the-same-even-if-you-won't-admit-it-yet' kind of kiss."

_Flashback_

_Pulling back, JJ's head was spinning and since they had stopped drinking almost two hours before, she didn't think it was from the alcohol. "Derek…"_

_ "JJ…" Derek sighed happily. "I've wanted to do that for so long."_

_ "Really?" She asked, not getting her hopes up just yet._

_ "Yes." He nodded, pressing another light kiss to her lips. "I don't know when it happened, Jayje, but these feelings… They aren't going away. I want this; you, me…"_

_ "Are, are you sure?"_

_ "One hundred percent, Princess. Look," he brought one hand up to cup her cheek before continuing. "I'm not sure when it happened, I'll admit to that, but I know that the day Emily told me that you felt the same way, was the happiest day of my life. Nothing could bring me down that day."_

_ "Why didn't you-."_

_ "Tell you?" Derek finished her question for her. "I don't… I think I was scared to do so. You're one of my best friends, Jayje. You're the person I can always count on. You'd always put someone else before yourself and because of that, I knew that I'd never want to lose you. Telling you about my feelings, well, I didn't want to risk you not feeling the same and ruining what we had."_

_ "But Emily told you." JJ pointed out._

_ "She did tell me, yes." He nodded slowly. "But having feelings for someone is different from acting upon them and I know you; you're the picture of professionalism. I didn't think you'd want to get involved with someone you work with, regardless of what your feelings were."_

_ JJ nodded, knowing what he said made sense. They did work together and JJ did try to steer clear of office romances. "You're right, I do. But… but I don't want to this time. Something, I don't know what it is about you, Derek Morgan, but I'm willing to make an exception to that rule for you. Maybe, maybe it is because in the past, any relationships I had weren't significant enough to risk my job for, but with you… I know we won't be a fling. I know it would be worth it."_

_ Smiling broadly, Derek leaned up once more and kissed her deeply._

_ Giggling, JJ pulled back again. "However, we do work in the morning and if we want this, us, to work, we can't let it interfere with work. We need to get some sleep."_

_ Derek nodded and easily lifted JJ to her feet and allowed her to help him up after. "So, we're in agreement? We both want to give this a try? I can call you my girlfriend?" He smirked as he asked the last question._

_ JJ rose up on her toes and kissed him soundly. "Yes, you can call me your girlfriend." She replied, smiling broadly. "But." She stepped backwards from his embrace, chewing on her bottom lip. "But, you know me, Derek, and… I don't want to rush things..."_

_ "Jay, don't worry about it. I'm staying out here tonight." He told her, knowing exactly what she was trying to say. "We'll discuss it more when we aren't still slightly intoxicated."_

_ JJ nodded her head and stepped back, smiling shyly. "Goodnight, Derek."_

_ Pulling her back to him once more, Derek pressed his lips to her briefly before releasing her. "Goodnight, JJ."_

_ End Flashback_

"So, what is so bad about that?" Emily asked, confused with JJ's behavior.

"Nothing. I just… it all came back to me at once. And then he was doing… that _thing_ with his tongue and then you walked in and Ben and no pants and -."

"JJ, stop." Emily told her sternly as she grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. "You're rambling. Try again."

Taking a deep breath, JJ pushed herself up onto her knees. "It's just overwhelming. We were still tipsy when all this happened. I want to bed as Derek's girlfriend but I wasn't really expecting it to be the same when I woke up."

"But you both want it."

At that simple statement, JJ didn't respond. Instead she jumped off the bed and practically ran out of the room.

"Wha-?" Emily quickly sat up and followed after her friend.

_ "I'm sorry, Derek." _JJ's voice came from the living room where she was standing in front of the Chicago-native, who had managed to get himself halfway dressed for work.

Realizing that something important was going to happen, Emily froze in her place in the hallway and waited to hear what her friends were going to say.

"Are you eavesdropping?" A deep voice came from behind her, causing her to jump nearly five feet in the air.

"Ben!" Emily hissed as she spun around to face the blonde. "No, I am NOT eavesdropping! I'm merely… supervising."

"Right." Ben shook his head in amusement. "Why don't you get ready for work instead?" He smirked as he took both of her hands in his and led her back towards her bedroom.

"I'm sorry, Derek." JJ said, taking one of his hands in both of hers. "I didn't mean to run off on you. I just, I was overwhelmed, not to mention severely hungover."

"JJ-."

"No, wait, let me get this out first." She interrupted, her blue eyes pleading with his. "When I went to bed, I went with the knowledge that I was your girlfriend. Granted everything happened while we were both pretty intoxicated, I still took it to heart. And, and when I woke up, and you were here, and everything just came back to me at once. I just got scared; you could change your mind at any time about this, us. And now that you've see me in that… situation, which isn't something most people have seen, and I thought maybe it changed how you saw me."

"JJ-." Derek tried again to get his two cents into the conversation.

JJ shook her head and continued, not allowing him to say anything. "But, but you didn't change your mind. You kissed me and my God, if Emily hadn't showed up…" She trailed off, remembering exactly how his lips felt against her bare skin.

Taking her distraction as his chance, Derek finally responded to her. "JJ, I meant what I said last night. I want this. You and me." He gestured between the two of them with his free hand. "I know you're scared; I'm scared, too. It's okay. I promise, it's okay to be scared. If you weren't, I'd be worried. I'm not known for serious relationships, so I can understand your doubts, but you have to believe me when I say this, Jayje… it couldn't _not_ be serious with you. You're too important to me to be a one-night or a short fling. I know my past, and you know my past. I'm done with that; I've been done with that for a while. I want a real relationship, and I want it with you."

"Yeah?" JJ asked, still somewhat unsure of how this was going to work, but willing to give it a try.

"Yeah." Derek replied slowly before lowering his lips to hers.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Okay, this one is pretty short and basically just a filler. Also, I have a complaint / question for y'all. I started writing this long before the episode with the tornadoes aired so needless to say, when I introduced the case in this fic, I had no idea that there would be an episode similar to it airing in a couple weeks. I really don't wanna change it, only because I've written four chapters ahead and I don't wanna have to rewrite all of them, and because it's really not THAT important to the story. My question is, would it REALLY bother y'all if I didn't change it?

Let me know what you think. Thanks for reading! Please review!

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><p><span>Chapter Seven<span>

An hour later, Emily was pulling her silver Toyota into her usual parking spot at FBI Headquarters. Derek and JJ quickly climbed out of the backseat and headed towards the building, giving Emily and Ben some privacy before they went their separate ways.

"So, um…" JJ paused before entering the building and turned to face Derek. "Do we… I mean, how…"

Grasping one of her hands in his, Derek pulled JJ out of the way of the entrance and off to the side of the building. "Just act normal, Jay. It'll be fine. And if not, just hide in your office and I'll come up to get you for lunch. Okay?"

JJ nodded, chewing on her bottom lip. "Okay."

"Stop worrying. I can see it in your eyes still. It'll be fine." He tried to reassure her before leaning down to kiss her briefly. "I promise I'll be just as professional as I am every other day."

"Hey, you guys ready?" Emily called from the front entrance, causing them both to look in her direction.

Glancing back at JJ, Derek raised his eyebrows, silently repeating Emily's question.

Taking a deep breath, JJ nodded. Let's go."

They had barely made it into the bullpen when Hotch called them into the conference room.

"We have a case." He told them. "Five children, ages 5-7, have gone missing in the last two weeks from a small town in Oklahoma."

"How can five children just go missing?" Emily asked.

"They were all last seen getting off their school buses. The bus driver said she saw them all get off the bus and start towards their homes." He explained. "Their parents said they didn't come home though."

"Isn't Oklahoma all farmland?" Derek asked. "They have a lot of land on their properties. They probably have long driveways. That's plenty of time for someone to snatch them up."

"So what, the unsub just sat there and waited for them to come home? They had to have known which houses had children living there." Reid pointed out. "He's either watching them or his from within the community."

"Have there been any… bodies found?" Derek questioned, causing the rest of the team to look up at him. "I mean, he's taking them but not killing them?"

Hotch nodded. "So far."

"Maybe he comes from a broken home." Emily suggested.

"Wheels up in an hour." Hotch told them as he stood from his chair. "Oklahoma is under a State of Emergency because of the intense heat wave. Plan accordingly. Take the extra time to go home and re-pack your bags."

"Um, Hotch?" Emily spoke up. "How hot is it exactly?"

"It's been over 100 degrees for the past week, peaking at 109. The lead detective has already set a dress-down order." He explained. "However, I'm still expecting appropriate dress, but the order applies to you as well. We don't need anyone passing out on us." He closed the case folder and head back towards his office.

"109 degrees?" Emily asked as they all headed towards the bullpen.

"Dress-down order? Is there even such an order?" Reid mused aloud.

"Don't question it, kid. Just leave the sweater vests at home." Morgan teased.


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry about the wait! Finals and then the holidays had me pretty busy! Anyway, here's another chapter. As always, let me know what you think. Feel free to give me some ideas too! I'll take everything into consideration.

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><p><span>Chapter Eight<span>

Three hours later, clad in jeans and light colored t-shirts, the team was gathered in the conference room in the Shady Point Police Department.

"Reid, get started on the geographical profile. JJ, get Garcia to pull up the backgrounds on the families, see if there's any connection. Prentiss, Morgan, go talk to the first two families; Rossi, take the third family. JJ, once Garcia is working on that we're going to see the last two families." Hotch ordered.

"She's already on it, sir. I spoke to her right after we landed." JJ told him.

Hotch nodded. "We'll meet back here in an hour.

As they were heading to the SUVs, Derek gently grabbed JJ's wrist, causing her to slow her steps.

"Hey, what's up?" She asked quietly, confused at his behavior.

"Nothing, I just wanted to say be careful." He shrugged sheepishly.

JJ smiled and nodded. "I will. As long as you're careful, too. I'd like to see my boyfriend tonight."

"Well, when you put it that way…" He smirked suggestively.

"Derek Morgan!" She exclaimed, smacking him on the bicep as they started walking again. "Get your mind out of the gutter!"

"Can't help it, babe." He shrugged. "It's your fault."

"Yeah, okay. Whatever you say." She shook her head as she yanked open the passenger side door to the SUV.

Derek chuckled and closed the door after her. "Be careful."

"I will!" She exclaimed exasperatedly. "Go! Emily's waiting."

Giving her one last look, Derek turned his back and walked away.

"Something you wanna tell me, JJ?" Hotch asked as he backed the SUV out of its' parking spot.

"Huh?" The blonde looked over at her boss, confused at his question. "What do you mean?"

"Just because I don't talk about it, doesn't mean I don't know." He replied. "I've seen the way Derek looks at you. And I know you feel the same way, even if you are or were in denial."

JJ remained silent, not want to say something wrong and jeopardize either of their jobs.

"Look, JJ, in actuality, you're not a profiler so the fraternization rules don't apply to you, and as long as it doesn't interfere with your work, there is no reason for Strauss to get involved." He told her, his voice full of sincerity. "I know Derek's feelings for you are genuine and who am I to come in between two happy people? This job makes relationships difficult, I know that better than anyone here, so when you find someone that understands, you hang onto them and don't let go."

JJ opened her mouth to respond but snapped it closed and waited a minute before trying again. "We're… giving it a shot."

"Since when? If you don't mind me asking."

"L-last night. Emily took me out for my birthday. We ran into Derek." She replied quietly.

"That explains the hangovers." Hotch chuckled.

"It was Emily's fault." JJ pouted childishly.

"I can't say that surprises me."


	9. Chapter 9

This is sort of just a filler chapter. I was kinda lost on what I should have happen next. Let me know if you have any ideas!

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><p><span>Chapter Nine<span>

Hours later, Emily, clad in just a towel was laying face up directly in the middle of her full-sized bed in their hotel room, waiting for JJ to come out of the bathroom so she could sneak back in. She could hear her co-worker fumbling around tiredly and she could tell how exhausted the blonde was from dealing with all the additional questions and concerns from the parents after the original interviews so she was giving her some extra space.

A quiet knocking at the door interrupted her thoughts and with an unnecessarily loud groan, she rolled off the bed, clutching the towel to her chest, and stood on her toes to glance through the peephole.

"Hang on a sec, Derek." She called as she pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank top before she opened the door. "What's up?"

"Is, um, is JJ around?" He asked somewhat nervously.

"She's in the bathroom." Emily replied, stepping aside to allow him to enter. "She should be out any minute."

"Hey, Em, do you have an extra tampon?" JJ groaned as she stepped back into the room, while towel drying her hair, clad in her usual sleep attire, which consisted of a pair of boys shorts and a tank top. "I apparently forgot to refill my bag."

"Yeah, they're in my suitcase." She replied nonchalantly. "Oh, and Derek's here to see you."

"What?" JJ dropped the white towel she was holding and snapped her gaze to the door where Derek was standing awkwardly right inside the doorway. "Um, sorry, Derek…"

Grinning sheepishly, Derek shifted his weight from his left to his right. "I, uh, just wanted to talk to you."

"I'm going to go call Ben." Emily interrupted their staring contest. "Use what you need from my suitcase, Jay."

"Thanks, Em." JJ nodded, smiling at her close friend before turning back to her boyfriend.

Once the hotel door had closed, Derek finally approached the blonde and wrapped his arms around her small waist. "Hey." He grinned down at her.

"Hey." She replied, unable to stop her smile from growing. Derek made her feel like she was back in high school, being pursued by the star quarterback. "What are you thinkin'? I can tell there's something on your mind."

"I'm just… happy. And I want to make sure you are, too." He admitted. "I've had these secret feelings for so long that it's strange that they're out in the open now."

JJ nodded before leaning forward and placing a kiss to the center of his shirt-covered chest, lingering there to inhale his freshly showered scent. "I'm really happy, too. You make me happy, Derek. I had gotten used to the idea that I'd never be able to share my feelings and now that I can… I'm really happy." She buried her face in his chest and tightened the hold her arms had around him.

After hearing her confession, Derek mimicked her actions and tightened his hold on her but then took it one step further and lifted her off her feet, causing her to let out a squeal of surprise and to wrap her legs around his waist as a reflex.

"Derek!" She giggled, now look down at him.

Unable to stop grinning, he leaned up and captured her lips with hers. As their tongues began to battle for dominance, Derek turned towards what he hoped her JJ's bed and lowered her to her back. Leaning over her, he ran his left hand up and down the back of her thigh that was still hitched up around his waist.

So involved in their heated makeout session, they didn't hear door unlocking and opening slowly nor did they hear Emily's voice announcing her return.

"Oh my God!" Emily exclaimed, slamming the door closed before yelling through it at her friends. "Again?"

Startled by the slamming of the door, JJ and Derek pulled apart, breathing heavily. Resting his forehead against hers, Derek chuckled. "I better go before Em kills me."

Biting her bottom lip to refrain from giggling, JJ nodded. "Okay, I'll… see you in the morning then." She leaned up to kiss him briefly. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." He whispered, hesitating a moment before climbing to his feet and exiting the door.

JJ laughed quietly when she heard a muffled grunt come from Derek, obviously on the receiving end of Emily's physical assault.

Less than a minute later, the door swung open and JJ was met with Emily's glare.

"Em…" JJ started to apologize but didn't get the chance to finish her sentence.

"You're so swapping beds with me." Emily told her, switching her glare for an amused look instead.

Confused, JJ glanced around the room, realizing for the first time that they had landed on the bed Emily had originally claimed not even an hour prior. "Oh… yeah, uh, sorry. I didn't realize…"

"I bet." Emily smirked, falling face-first onto the other bed.

The room was quiet for a minute before JJ broke the silence. "Em, really… I'm sorry. This is the second time it's happened." She sat up cross-legged on the bed, chewing on her bottom lip and running a hand through her hair.

Emily turned to face her friend, realizing that she pretty troubled over the situation. Instead of responding right away, she quickly joined JJ on her bed and grabbed the hand that wasn't currently holding her bangs out of her face. "JJ, what's going on?"

Sighing, the blonde raised her gaze to meet her friends' brown eyes, full of concern and curiosity. "I don't know. I'm… I'm happy with Derek, I really am. I just… I guess I don't really understand what's happening?" She frowned, unsure of her words.

"Didn't you talk to him about this?" Emily asked.

"I did, we did, we're together. I know that. It's just… it's been a while since I… since I've had someone, you know? I mean, my last significant relationship was… in college."

"You've dated other men, Jay. We've talked about them." Emily replied, completely confused with this conversation.

"Yeah… going out once doesn't constitute a date though. It was more about them wanting to get laid." She explained dejectedly. "They ran when they found out what I did for a living."

Deciding to save JJ the embarrassment of replaying her one-night stands, Emily made a turn in the conversation. "Jay… what happened with Will?"


	10. Chapter 10

AN: I know. I'm a terrible updater. I just recently moved from Mass to Virginia and have been without internet for the last couple months. Awful, I know. As it turns out, I have a good three chapters of this one written so I'm going to upload Chapter 10 and 11 now to attempt to make up for the long wait. Anyone of you that are waiting for The College Years to be updated, I'm working on that one right now. Again, I'm terribly sorry for the long wait and thank you for the reviews!

Let me know what you think of these two chapters!

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><p><span>Chapter 10<span>

JJ sighed deeply. "I don't deny having a few one-night stands in the last decade but… but, it's been a while. They were all right after college and I knew, I knew going into them that that's all they were going to be; just one night. But I haven't… it was a long time ago and…"

"JJ, you don't have to defend yourself to me. I've known you for two years now. I know what you're trying to say. I'm not going to judge you." Emily tried to reassure her. "College was a whole different world."

"I just… I wanted you to understand." She shrugged half-heartedly. "Will was different though. I try… _really, really_ try to keep my personal and professional lives separate, but Will… I don't know. I thought there was something there. He told me outright earlier that day that he was flirting with me. I mean, I know I'm out of practice but I swore the signs were there."

"So… you invited him to you room?" Emily asked, brow furrowing in confusion.

"No!" The blonde liaison exclaimed. "No. I… I had given him my card before we left the scene that night. He was kind of… down after we closed the case. I knew we were leaving in the morning and I really thought he was legitimately interested. And, and the distance made it easier to keep it from everyone… I guess." She admitted, glancing up to see Emily's face fall at that confession. "I mean, I would've told you if it went somewhere. I just wanted to have it for myself for a little while."

Emily nodded, smiling slightly. "I can understand that."

"Of course, I was wrong though." She sighed dejectedly. "He called me that night, just after midnight. Looking back, I probably should have realized what was happening but he was really upset and said he needed to talk. I told him I'd meet him in the hotel lobby so he could get everything out. I'm not even sure what he said that got us back to my room. We were just talking about everything and he kissed me. I didn't even see it coming. But, but it didn't feel wrong, you know? It felt like there were underlying feelings so it felt… okay. I don't know…" She dropped her chin to her chest, willing the tears not to fall. _"I have Derek now. I know he has feelings for me. He does care for me, he does care for me..."_

"Hey…" Emily squeezed JJ's hands between hers and waited for her to lift her head again. "It's alright, Jay…"

"He made me feel like I was special." She admitted. "At first, it was… he made me feel beautiful and on multiple occasions, checked to make sure that I was okay. He was sweet, and caring, and… sure, it was a hotel room at the end of a brutal case and we were both a mess, but he didn't care. He said things, did things… he just made me feel… wanted, but for more than my looks. He cared about me… or at least I thought he did." She paused before continuing, chewing on her bottom lip. "Afterwards though…

"Wait a second…" Emily interrupted. "This was just after midnight?"

JJ nodded, confused at Emily's question. "Yeah, he called me literally right after midnight. Only took him like twenty minutes to get to the hotel. Why?"

"I didn't see him leaving until four." The brunette replied, leaving JJ to figure out what she was getting at on her own.

"What? Yeah, he was there for a couple – oooh!" JJ blushed, realizing exactly what Emily was getting at. "Yeah… it was a long night."

"I'll say. Four hours? Please tell me there was a lot of talking happening."

Blushing profusely now, JJ shook her head. "Maybe for like a half hour…"

"Seriously…" Emily shook her head. "I'm sorry, continue with your story."

"I don't…" JJ frowned, not really wanting to continue, but knew Emily deserved the whole story. "It was a long night, but afterwards… I don't know what I expected. I knew, we both knew, it'd look pretty bad if he was there when everyone else got up so he left shortly after… everything happened. He told me he'd call me later that day, after we got home. I didn't wait around for his call; I know things can happen and you lose track of time and -." JJ stopped shortly, realizing that she was rambling. "Sorry."

"How long did it take for him to call?" Emily asked, knowing what happened without JJ having to say it.

"He didn't." She responded. "And I didn't want to seem desperate so I waited until that night and sent him a text message before I went to bed. When I woke up, he had replied – it was like 3am – and he basically said that it wasn't going to work out and that he was sorry and that we should just forget that night happened."

"What?" Emily was surprised. She hadn't seen much interaction between her friend and the Southern detective during the case but from what she did observe, there was definitely some chemistry there. "Did he say why?"

JJ shook her head. "No, it was short and to the point. I don't know, Em, it… it just made me feel like I was nothing. I mean, four hours and then nothing? It seemed strange to me but I just assumed I was over-analyzing things and maybe the feelings I'd seen weren't actually there."

"You're not nothing, Jay…" Emily reassured her.

JJ sniffled. "I feel like it. God! I hate being this girl. I'm _never_ this girl."

"Okay, so Will was a jerk, that's obvious. He missed out on what could've been a great relationship with a great girl." The brunette told her. "But you've got Derek now. So why is this still bothering you?"

"I don't know." JJ admitted dejectedly. "I know Derek wouldn't do something like that but... I…"

"You're scared to lose him, aren't you?" Emily asked. "The fact that Derek would never do what Will did, it made you realize that this is serious. You already know there's no going back, whereas with Will, you were unsure. It's easier to be with someone like Will because when it ends, it's over. With Derek, you don't want it to end because you'll still have to see each other and deal with the fallout. Not to mention, you're great friends now. You know ending the relationship would ruin that. You're scared of the possible negative fallout."

Sniffling, JJ pondered what Emily had just told her. Working with profilers meant very little privacy but at times like this, JJ was glad her friend could sort her mind out for her. "He's my best friend, besides you." She whispered. "I don't know what I'd do without you guys."

"He's not going to leave you, Jayje. You need to focus on the positive aspects. He's not like Will."

"I know. It's just… I'm so used to the idea that men only want me for one thing. For someone to want me for _me_… it's overwhelming." She shrugged, pushing her blonde hair out of her face. "It's scary."

"Have you told him this?" Em asked.

JJ shook her head. "I couldn't even figure it out until now."

"You know you need to, right?"

"Yeah… I know."

"It'll help, Jay. It'll make being together easier. Once you guys are on the same page, you'll be able to enjoy the relationships and make something of it. You can't successfully be together physically if you're on different pages emotionally." She pointed out.

"I guess I should go talk to him, huh?" She frowned.

Emily nodded. "It'd probably be a good idea.

Taking a deep breath, JJ climbed to her feet. "I'm just going to use the bathroom before…" She trailed off. "Thanks, Em."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

The next morning, Emily woke to JJ digging through her go bag, clad in jeans and a tank top.

"What's goin' on?" She mumbled sleepily, forcing herself to sit up.

"We forgot to set the alarm." The blonde replied. "And you've been ignoring me for the last twenty minutes."

"Really?" Emily frowned. "I don't even remember you waking me."

"You threw a pillow at me." JJ shrugged, slipping a v-neck t-shirt over her head. "But we gotta be ready in twenty minutes now so you can't ignore me anymore."

"Twenty minutes?" The brunette groaned, tossing back the blankets and climbing out of bed. "How'd last night go? I tried to wait up." She asked as she dug out an outfit similar to her friends'.

"It was fine. He already knew exactly what I was feeling." Grabbing her purple hair brush, JJ continued as she brushed out her still damp hair. "He felt the same way but he's more… he's convinced it's going to last. He's just more optimistic, I guess."

"He knows how he feels about you. He's not going to let you go without a fight, Jay." Emily told her, speaking through the bathroom door. "He's in it for the long haul."

"I know..." JJ trailed off.

Not even twenty minutes later, the two girls were exiting the elevator, giggling hysterically while a confused businessman followed behind them.

"What's so funny?" Derek asked, unconsciously resting a hand on the small of JJ's back.

"That man was doing a horrible job of trying to pick up Em." JJ continued giggling.

"In last nights' clothes nonetheless. He stunk." Emily continued while their three colleagues smiled at the other man's expense.

"Everyone ready?" Hotch asked when he joined the group not even thirty seconds later.

It was just after 10pm when the team finally caught a break. Another child had gone missing but the UnSub, now known as Patrick Harris, had slipped up and was seen by a passerby. Derek was driving one SUV with JJ in the passenger seat and Emily in the back while Hotch, Rossi, and Spencer were heading towards a second possible location.

JJ shuddered as she thought back to their case in Kansas just weeks prior. The weather was almost identical and tornadoes had been predicted for the night.

"So, six children?" Emily double-checked. "Probably hiding them in the basement because of the weather…" She trailed off, clearly just working out the scenario in her mind, not expecting either of her friends to join in.

JJ glanced in Derek's direction, knowing that he was thinking about Kansas, too. Reaching over the center console, she placed a hand on his thigh, causing him to meet her gaze briefly before turning back to the road in front of him. Dropping his right hand, he laid it over hers and squeezed gently, not saying a word; those few seconds of eye contact had expressed exactly what both of them were thinking.

As Derek pulled the SUV to a stop, JJ glanced in the side view mirror to make sure the two local police officers were still behind them. Once she saw the two men exit their vehicles, she knew they were in the right spot.

"Okay, Prentiss, we'll take the Harris, JJ, focus on getting the kids out of there." Derek directed as they approached the house. After receiving two nods of agreement, he easily kicked the door open.

The three of them, followed by the local officers, quickly cleared the first floor of the house before regrouping in front of the basement door. Derek swung the door open slowly and descended down the stairs.

"Patrick Harris! FBI! Show yourself!" He barked out loudly to be heard over the thundering storm outside. "Patrick Harris!"

Once they reached the concrete floor of the basement, they were confronted with exactly what they didn't want. Patrick Harris was using the most recent missing child as a shield while the other five kids were crowded back into a far corner.

"Patrick, let the children go." Derek demanded softly. "You don't want anyone to get hurt."

"No! I'm doing them a favor! Their parents don't deserve them!" The 20-something year old screamed back, tightening his grip on the young girl.

"Patrick, we know what happened to you." Emily told him. "These children don't have parents like yours though. No one is going to hurt them."

"Derek…" JJ whispered, glancing towards the small window in the top right corner of the room. "We need to…"

"I know. I can see it." He mumbled back, referring to the dark funnel-shaped tornado heading towards the house at an increasingly alarming rate. "Patrick, these children have good parents who are worried sick about them. Your father was a bad man. He didn't deserve you. But these children, their parents love them and take good care of them. They won't hurt them."

"Why should I believe you? They're all the same! They'll hurt them eventually! They always do!" He cried back, the gun in his hand trembling.

"No, Patrick, not all parents are bad." JJ decided to take a shot of her own. "I have a three year old, a little boy. I would never hurt him, Patrick. He is my entire world. There _are_ good parents out there."

"No…" Patrick shook his head, tears streaming down his face. "No! You're wrong!" He exclaimed, suddenly aiming the gun at the three FBI agents. "You're wrong!"

"Patrick…" Derek started again, only to be cut off by the sound of a gunshot and JJ's exclamation of his name.


	12. Chapter 12

AN: Sorry for the cliffhanger, guys. So here's the deal. I have chapter 12 and 13 written, currently working on 14 but I really have no idea where I'm going with it so I'll probably end up wrapping it up soon. So, here's 12 and 13 will be up in a couple days hopefully.

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><p><span>Chapter Twelve<span>

Derek felt the impact of the ground before he even knew what happened. Groaning, he rubbed the back of his head while he tried to stop the room from spinning. Lifting his head, he glanced down, confused as to why JJ was sprawled on the ground next to him. "JJ?"

"Morgan!" Emily's voice called from across the room.

Turning to look in the direction of her voice, Morgan sighed with relief when he realized that Emily had Patrick pinned to the ground, hands cuffed behind his back while she directed the six children into the small bathroom in the far corner.

"Morgan! You need to move!" Emily exclaimed, glancing towards the window where she could see the tornado practically feet from the house. She pulled Patrick to his feet and shoved him towards the bathroom as well. "Morgan!"

Shaking his head to clear the fog, Derek pushed himself to a sitting position, realizing for the first time that JJ wasn't moving. "JJ?" He gently shook her shoulder before finally accepting the fact that she was, for some reason, unconscious. "JJ!"

"Derek!" Emily exclaimed once more as the building above them began shaking. "Derek! She hit her head! You need to move her!"

Noticing the blood that oozing from the gash on the right side of her head for the first time, Derek jumped to his feet and gathered the blonde into his arms before crossing the room and joining the crowded the bathroom. "What happened?" He asked once Emily had slammed the door shut.

Glancing over her shoulder to Patrick, who was sitting on the floor in the corner, she sighed. "He shot at you. I managed to get one to his upper arm as soon as he pulled the trigger. I got a glimpse of JJ hitting her head on the concrete when she pushed you to the ground. She needs medical attention. I think the bullet grazed her. Can you lay her down? We need to make sure it's not serious."

Derek nodded and lowered JJ to the ground, listening to the house above them being demolished. "Are we alright down here?"

"We should be." Emily replied, pulling JJ's FBI vest off before checking her over for injuries. "Can you get through to Hotch? We need medics in here as soon as possible. She's bleeding pretty badly down here." She gestured to JJ's side. "It doesn't look too bad but we need to slow the bleeding."

"Too bad? Em, that's a lot of blood!" Derek exclaimed, glancing at the wounded area for the first time.

"I know, but it could be a lot worse, Derek. Get me something to use to apply pressure." She told him, pressing down firmly but gently with her bare hands. She knew he was only stressing out because of his newfound relationship with the blonde. "Any luck with getting through to Hotch?"

"I can't get enough signal to make the phone call but I managed to get a text message sent. How far was the other house?"

"I don't even… like twenty minutes maybe?" Emily shook her head. "Anything?"

"No, there's nothing around here!" He exclaimed angrily. "Not a lousy rag or anything!"

"Here, grab my sleeve." She extended one arm while keeping pressure with the other. "Do the same with the other. I have a tank top on under this."

Derek helped Emily pulled the black short sleeve t-shirt over her head before pressing it against JJ's side so she could remove her blood-stained hands.

"Crack the door. It sounds like the worst has passed." Emily told him, trying to keep him moving. She knew this was the reason while inter-team relationships were frowned upon but she honestly couldn't care less for that rule. She'd probably have to do the same for Spencer if he were here and there was no romance between him and JJ.

"Morgan!" Hotch's voice came from somewhere above them.

"Hotch! We're in the basement!" He yelled back up to the rest of the team. "We need medics!"

"Derek, take the kids and get them out of here." Emily said. "You can probably lift them up through the floor."

"Derek." Hotch's face appeared through a hole in the wooden floor seconds later. "Are you alright? Where's Harris?"

"We've got him. And the kids. We need medics. JJ's hurt. Emily's with her."

"They're on their way. Is everyone else okay?"

"Yeah, they're scared but physically, they're okay. I'm going to lift'em up to you." He told his boss.

Using her shoulder to push her hair out of her face, Emily lifted her t-shirt to check on JJ's wound. "How long for medics?"

"They're on their way now. Shouldn't be much longer. Has she woken up yet?" Derek asked as he directed the children towards the other side of the room.

"Not yet." She sighed, pressing down on her shirt again. "C'mon, JJ. You gotta wake up for me. Morgan will kill you if you don't."

"Is she -." Patrick spoke for the first time since Emily had cuffed him.

"Shut up. You don't get to talk right now. You just -." Emily was cut off by a quiet groan coming from her partner and best friend below her. "JJ?"

"Em…" JJ squeezed her eyes shut even tighter and rolled her head to face the direction Emily's voice was coming from. "Em, what… happened?"

"Shh, Jay, try to stay still. The medics are on their way. You hit your head pretty hard." She tried to keep her from moving too much. "You're bleeding and if you move, it's going to hurt a lot."

"Al…ready does." She gritted her teeth, opening her eyes slightly before letting them fall closed again. "Where's…Der…ek?"

"He's fine. He's getting the kids out of here."

"Em?" Derek stuck his head back into the bathroom. "The medics are just getting here. LEO's dropped a ladder so we can get Harris out and then they're going to lift her out. Is she -?"

"She's awake. Barely." Emily nodded, watching JJ turn her head towards Derek.

"Der…ek?" JJ whispered.

Dropping to his knees opposite Emily, Derek grabbed one of JJ's hands in his. "Hey, babe."

"You… o…kay?" She mumbled slowly.

"Yeah, thanks to you, Superwoman. What were you thinking?"

"Dunno…" She trailed off, wincing in pain. "Derek…"

"Shh, babe. You need to rest. I'm going to get the medics so we can get you outta here, okay?"

"'kay."

Derek climbed to his feet and glanced down at Emily. "You good?"

"Yeah, get Harris out of here."


End file.
